Cmdr. Chip Barber served on active duty in the U.S. Navy for twenty-four years.  Operational tours included Patrol Squadrons in both the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters where he flew over 3,500 hours in the P3 Orion aircraft and earned designation as a Patrol Plane Mission Commander.  He was emergency-deployed for the Yom Kipper War and saw duty as Detachment Officer-in-Charge in numerous locations including Midway Island, Kwajalein, Diego Garcia, and Malaysia.  He was commissioning crew Navigator in USS Peleliu (LHA-5) in which he transited the Panama Canal and crossed the equator.

Shore duty assignments included two tours at the U.S. Naval Academy and one as Executive Officer at the University of Virginia NROTC Unit. At the Naval Academy, as a junior officer, he was course coordinator for the Celestial Navigation Course and Head Varsity Offshore Sailing Coach.  In the latter position, he was coach aboard a 56-foot sloop that won First-in-Fleet in the Transatlantic Race and First-in-Class in the infamous 1979 Fastnet Race in which five boats sank, and nineteen were killed during a severe storm. His twilight tour was as Director of Naval Academy Sailing where his intercollegiate teams won back-to-back National Championships.  He personally coached the First-in-Fleet winner of the 1992 Newport to Bermuda Sailboat Race over more than 180 top professional and amateur crews.

He earned a Naval Specialty in Aviation Antisubmarine Warfare and a Proven Sub-specialty in Education and Training Management.

After retiring from the Navy, Cmdr. Barber founded several successful yachting and security-oriented consultancies. 

His education includes a bachelor's degree in economics from Franklin and Marshall College, a master's degree from George Washington University, and an education specialist degree from the University of Virginia.

Lt. Col. (Ret.) William F. Bither served Army ROTC at Virginia Military Institute twice. During his first assignment to VMI, he was the Military Science IV Branch Chief/Detachment Operations Officer from 1996-1999 and during his second tour served as the Military Science I Branch Chief/Detachment Executive Officer from 2001-2005. He recently accepted the VMI position as the Director of Corps Marksmanship and NCAA Rifle Coach.

He graduated from North Georgia College in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science degree and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Infantry. He also holds a Master of Science degree in Education from James Madison University and is also a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College.

In January 1984, His first troop assignment was as a rifle platoon leader in the 2nd Infantry Division, South Korea. In January 1985, he returned stateside and served as a Mortar Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer, and Battalion Assistant S4 in the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Lewis, Washington. From May 1985 until May 1989, he performed duties as an Operations Officer and commanded a Motorized Rifle Company in 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, Fort Lewis, Washington. Then, from July 1990 until August 1991, he attended Special Forces Assessment and Selection followed by the Special Forces Qualification Course at Fort Bragg, N.C.

In 1991, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Bither reported to 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group, Germany and served as a Special Forces Detachment Commander from 1991-1994. In August 1994, he was reassigned to Fort Bragg and assumed command of a Special Forces Company in the 3rd Special Forces Group. In 2001, following his initial assignment to VMI, he returned to Ft Bragg as a member of the 18th Airborne Corps, Special Operations Coordination Element.

In April 2005, he was reassigned to Combined Forces Command, South Korea as the Division Chief for Ulchi Focus Lens Exercise Branch. From 2006-2008, he attended the Joint Forces Staff College and was assigned as the Special Operations Plans Officer, Joint Forces Command, Suffolk, Virginia and Army Liaison Officer to I MEF (Marine Expeditionary Force), Fallujah, Iraq.

Lt. Col. (Ret.) Bither’s awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (5th Award), Army Commendation Medal (6th Award), Army Achievement Medal (2nd Award), Iraq Campaign Medal (2nd Award) and the Korean Defense Service Medal. He is also authorized to wear the Master Parachutist Badge, Ranger and Special Forces tabs.

Following his retirement from active duty in 2009, he worked as a military analyst/trainer for two major defense contracting corporations in the Hampton Roads area for over two years.

Lt. Col. (Ret.) Bither is married to the former Cynthia J. Harris of Covington, Georgia. They have three children: Lisa (27), Will (21) and Josh (19).

Col. Adrian T. Bogart III ’81 has been appointed commandant of the Virginia Military Institute Corps of Cadets.

Previously, Bogart spent 38 years in the United States Army in both the Regular Army and National Guard.  He started his career in Baumholder, Germany during the Cold War as a Rifle and Support Platoon Leader, then Company Executive Officer in the 1st Battalion, 13th Infantry. Upon completing his initial duty assignment, he was assigned to C Company, 1/20th SFG(A) as a Special Forces Detachment Commander and SF Company Executive Officer, later commanding B Company, 2/20th SFG(A).

Bogart had several assignments in Washington, DC, where he was a Special Forces Staff officer on Army Staff, one of the original four officers who established Civil Support for the Department of Defense and co-founder of the InterAgency Board for Equipment Standardization and Interoperability. As the war commenced, he transferred into the Regular Army, and served as the CFLCC operations chief for the 2003 Liberation of Iraq, the lead strategist and then Special Forces chief of staff for CJSOTF-A, where he developed and managed the special operations supporting plan for the 2004 Afghan Presidential election.

He was assigned to the 4th Infantry Division, where in 2006, as an assistant division chief of staff, he managed a Baghdad centric civic action supporting a population of 11 million Iraqis during the height of religious violence. After Baghdad, he was assigned as the deputy brigade commander for 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division where he partnered with Iraqi and Allied commands, tribal, Iraq, United States and British government officials to transition key provinces to Iraqi sovereignty in 2008 and 2009.

Upon returning to the United States, he commanded 2nd Battalion, 393rd Infantry, an infantry training support battalion, preparing 7,600 Soldiers for combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, after which Colonel Bogart deployed to Afghanistan managing governance and development for the Special Operations Joint Task Force in 2012 and 2013.

His follow-on assignment was at the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, where he served as the deputy strategist to the Commanding General developing the "Win in a Complex World" tag line guiding the Army's operating concept for the next 20 years. Afterwards, Colonel Bogart transferred to Special Operations Command, Africa and commanded a Special Operations Command and Control Element focused on Libya and North Africa. He returned to the United States and served as Military Faculty at the United States Naval War College, staffed the President of the United States as the Director of African Affairs on the National Security Council pioneering "Prosper Africa", and then deployed for a 21-month tour in Afghanistan as the Deputy Commander of the Train, Advise and Assist Command, North (NATO Resolute Support Mission) supporting the historic peace agreement between the United States and the Taliban. His last assignment on active duty was in the Pentagon as the USSOUTHCOM Chief of the Washington Field Office.

A civil engineering major at VMI, Bogart held positions of increasing responsibility as a member of the cadre and served as executive officer of Company F his 1st Class year.  He holds a Master of Arts in Diplomacy with a concentration in Terrorism from Norwich University and has proficiency in French, German, and Dari. He is a published author of two books and several articles on counterinsurgency and special operations. A veteran of 78 months in combat, he has earned two Defense Superior Service Medals, one with Combat Device, the Legion of Merit, five Bronze Star Medals, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, six Meritorious Service Medals, the Afghan Campaign Medal with 2 stars, Iraq Campaign Medal with 6 stars and other awards, Combat Infantrymen and Combat Action Badges as well as the Special Forces tab, Army Parachutist Badge, the Presidential Service and Army Staff Identification Badges, and German and Italian Parachute wings.

A native of New York, he and his late wife, Susan, have three adult children, Sarah, Catherine, and Adrian T. Bogart IV.

Col. John A. Brodie has been the Institute's Director of Music since 1988. His duties include the direction of the Regimental Band, the VMI Commander's Jazz Ensemble, The Institute Brass, and he oversees the Pipe Band and the Glee Club. He directed the Glee Club from 2002-2012. 

The Regimental Band has participated in over 1000 parades and performances on and off-post during his tenure, and he has had the privilege of directing hundreds of Cadets the Band Company.

Highlights of his career at the Institute include the band's appearances at the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, the Macy's Day and St Patrick's Day parades in New York City , the French Bicentennial in Paris, France, four Presidential Inaugural parades, New Orleans and Mobile Mardi Gras parades, and five Gubernatorial Inaugural parades in Richmond, Virginia. In 1997, the VMI Pipe Band was established under his command and now includes more than 45 Cadets, and it's own director. Various ensembles under his direction have performed throughout Europe, China, Japan, Russia, Brazil, and Puerto Rico. He is an honorary member of the class of 1992 and in 2005 he was chosen as the 25th honorary alumnus of the Institute by the VMI Alumni Association. 

Formerly, Col. Brodie was a member of "The Commandant's Own", the United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps in Washington, DC. He also taught in Granada, Colorado where he produced a state champion marching band. He holds a bachelor of science degree from West Chester University, and masters and doctorate degrees from the Catholic University of America. 

Brodie is a native of Denver, Colorado. He is married and lives in Staunton, Virginia.

Donaldson is originally from Cardenden in Fife, a small mining village in Scotland. When he was growing up, each local mine, or colliery, had its own pipes and drums corps, providing a spirit of community and kinship. The corps were supported by the miners who each contributed one penny of each week’s wages. Both Donaldson’s father and grandfather were miners. His father, himself a renowned bagpiper and teacher, taught Donaldson to play.

After graduating from high school, Donaldson served his apprenticeship at Inveran House, a bagpipe maker at Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. “I commuted 45 miles one-way every day by train to Edinburgh from my hometown. I left home at 6 a.m. and didn’t get back until 7 p.m.,” said Donaldson. 

At a young age Donaldson played with the world-famous Dysart and Dundonald Pipe Band, winning every major championship in the pipe band world. Later, he enlisted in the Scots Guards, whose primary duty is to guard the British monarch, and served with the regiment all over the world. He passed his pipe majors course at the Army School of Piping at Edinburgh Castle in 1982. He soldiered in the Falklands War and served tours of duty in Northern Ireland during the height of the unrest. Later, he was posted to the Army School of Piping as an instructor for three years. He was subsequently promoted to pipe sergeant in 1993, then to the pipe major, the leading musician in a bagpipe band, in 1995. “I played many times for her majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, at Balmoral Castle and in her birthday parades, called the Trooping of the Colour. I had opportunities to dance with her and with Princess Diana as well,” reminisced Donaldson.

In 1998, Donaldson became pipe major at the Army training regiment in Glencourse, Scotland.  He served out his 22-year military career teaching at the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Donaldson became one of the most renowned pipers in the British Army. He has earned many awards in multiple competitions including the Highland Society of London’s Gold Medal, the most coveted award in piping; the Bratach Gorm, the highest prize given by the Scottish Piping Society of London; and the Donald MacDonald Quaich.  He has been invited numerous times to the famous Glenfiddich Piping Championships at Blair Castle in Pirthshire, Scotland.

After a successful military career, Donaldson returned to his trade as a bagpipe craftsman. He purchased the company where he apprenticed and changed its name to Inveran Bagpipe Makers. “To me, the name Inveran House sounded like a hotel,” he quipped.

In 2012, he was offered a position teaching at St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin, where he taught for seven years.  He taught at Missouri Military Academy in Mexico, Missouri for two years before accepting the position of director of the pipes and drums at VMI. 

Major Ellis initially enlisted and served from 1994 to 2001 in the PAARNG as part of HSC 1/112^th INF’s Reconnaissance Scout Platoon. 

From 2001 to 2004 he was an Infantry Platoon Leader, Brigade Adjutant and Battalion Personnel Officer for 3^rd Brigade, 82^nd Airborne, deploying with his fellow paratroopers to both Afghanistan and Iraq on back to back rotations.

After these assignments he was a communications officer with the 82nd Airborne’s Division Signal and Engineer Battalions.

From 2006 to 2007 he was deployed as a tactical communications advisor for the Iraqi National Police Force with the US State Department, tasked under the Iraqi National Counter Terror Task Force (INCTTF). On this tour Major Ellis served alongside several different conventional and SOF US and allied units as a communications enabler.

From 2008 to 2010 MAJ ELLIS was the Student Company Executive Officer for the PSYOP training cadre at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center. 

From 2010 to 2011 he was the Information Management Officer for the 18th Airborne Corps Artillery Brigade, which was then OPCON to the 82D Airborne Division, and was the Signal Officer for the Airborne Assault Command Platform.

During his next deployment MAJ Ellis was the Brigade Signal Officer for the 42D Military Police Brigade, and while deployed to Parwan Afghanistan he led a detachment strength signal section, in charge of a mix of service members and civilians from multiple branches.

Upon returning home, MAJ Ellis served another year with the 42D before assuming responsibility as the Deputy G6, 7th Infantry Division. His last active-duty assignment from 2015 to 2016 was as an intelligence planner on the staff of the Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth.

Since retirement from Active Duty, Major Ellis has served as a Cyber, Counterintelligence, and Security/Threat SME Analyst for the Department of Defense as well as Homeland Security.

 MAJ Ellis obtained his undergrad in Political Science (2001) from Penn State and Master’s in Leadership Science (2015) from the Citadel.

MAJ Ellis’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Army Parachutist Badge,  the Navy and Marine Corps Parachutist Badge, and the German Parachutist Badge in Silver Grade.

In his free time Major Ellis enjoys time with his four children, writing historical fiction, and volunteering in outdoor-based therapeutic programs for injured veterans. He is an active member of Phantom Airborne Brigade, a round canopy tactical parachute team that helps combat-wounded, service disabled, and other veterans back into the skies to jump with their comrades.

Col. Kevin Faust graduated from Virginia Military Institute with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in International Studies. A member of the class of 1996, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Air Force.

After completion of the Air Force’s Intelligence Course, Col. Faust was assigned to the 609 Air Intelligence Squadron (AIS). From April 1997 to April 1998, he served as the Deputy Chief of Air Defense Analysis. He continued to serve in the 609 AIS from April 1998 to April 2000 as the Chief of Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Collection Management. In April of 2000, Col. Faust was assigned to the Defense HUMINT Service (DHS), and served as a strategic debriefer for three years. Following this assignment, Col. Faust wrapped up his Air Force service with a one year assignment in Seoul, South Korea.  He was assigned as a targeting officer with Special Operations Command Korea (SOCKOR).

Col. Faust is a graduate of the Air Force Intelligence School, the Intelligence Collections Managers Course, the Defense Strategic Debriefer’s Course, and Squadron Officer’s School.  He received a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Massachusetts, Boston in 2004.

Returning to VMI in the fall of 2005, Col. Faust served as the Assistant Commandant for Personnel and Logistics for six years.

Col. Faust’s awards and decorations include the Joint Commendation Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Korea Defense Service Medal and the NATO medal.  Major Faust’s overseas duty included deployments to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Prior to returning to VMI, Col. Faust spent one year teaching Middle School in Rockbridge County, Virginia.

Col. Faust is married to the former Allie Skukan of Chicago, Illinois. They have two children: Emma (12) and Cody (10).